What kind of offense does Nebby run?

PJHawk

PJHawk

Well-Known Member
According to this article if Pelini bumps his RB coach up to OC they could start running Iowa's worst nightmare to defend:

Warinner worked with Husker running backs coach Tim Beck at Kansas in 2007, when the Jayhawks went 12-1, averaged 42.8 points and finished No. 7 in the AP poll. Beck is the leading candidate to call plays for Pelini. Warinner said Beck would excel in any role.

“He’s a hard worker, he’s good with the kids in terms of motivation and preparation,” Warinner said. “He’s able to handle pressure on Saturdays well. He’d a solid, solid football coach. Solid guy.”

If Pelini hands the offense to Beck, Nebraska is likely to embrace the no-huddle, spread principles that swept through the Big 12 the past five years.

“It’s high-speed football,” Warinner said.

Bo’s renovation done; Watson off to NFL? - Omaha.com
 
As long as Nebraska is a run first, pass second offense, I expect Iowa's defense to preform very well (see Denard Robinson). Iowa should only worry if Nebraska gets a quarterback that is a good runner AND an accurate passer (see NW and Indiana).
 
Nebraska's biggest problem under Pellini has been that they have not established an offensive identity. Nebraska has been extemely inconsistent on offense because they don't know what they want to be. For every quarterback Nebraska plays they run a different offense.
 
Pelini want's the Oregon style offense. Pelini has had talks with current Oregon WR's coach & former Husker Scott Frost about returning to Nebraska, but Frost would only come if he was OC.

Watson & Gilmore (WR's coach & RC) were holdover's from the Callahan staff because at the time, the offense wasn't broken and during the trasistion from Callahan to Pelini, Watson & Tom Osborne got to know one another and it was Osborne who urged Pelini to retain the two.
 
Nebraska has been running the following on O (for the most part):

- QB zone-read run-option (Martinez has great acceleration when healthy)
- Nebby clearly also wants to pass from the spread sets, however, the QB is sufficiently young that he gets flustered when his primary pass option is not open
- Plenty of snaps out of the Wildcat
- Nebby didn't mind flashing their willingness to pass the ball when their RB (Burkhead) receives the direct-snap. A big part of this is due to the fact that Burkhead is a former QB.

Extra Notes: Nebby loses something like 3 starters from the OL, 2 of their top WRs, and their more "dynamic" RB (Helu). Many Husker fans like throwing Watson under the bus, however, I really lay much of the blame for late-season ineptitude of the Husker O on Pelini. Pelini has yet to come up with a clear vision of what he wants the Husker O to be like. As a result, Watson was stuck preparing an O that really never had an identity.

Despite the aforementioned personnel losses, Martinez and Burkhead still comprise a pretty formidable offensive backfield. Furthermore, Kinnie is an emmerging threat at WR and they have some quality TEs. Will that be enough to power the O? Will the Huskers be able to "reload" on the OL? These latter question ... I have no good answers to.
 
Look what happened to Michigan when they tried to run a spread type offfense with Robinson. Same type of QB, great runner, limited arm.

The spread also limits the time running backs are on the field and it is tougher to hand off in the shotgun. Nebraska is running back U. Take them away from their strengths. Go ahead, DO IT!
 
dbqchiefsfan said:
Look what happened to Michigan when they tried to run a spread type offfense with Robinson. Same type of QB, great runner, limited arm.

The spread also limits the time running backs are on the field and it is tougher to hand off in the shotgun. Nebraska is running back U. Take them away from their strengths. Go ahead, DO IT!
Click to expand...

The problem really wasn't with Michigan's O. The bigger issue concerned Michigan's D.

In contrast, the Husker D will likely be VERY sound under Pelini's watch. The bigger issue is that the Husker O won't be nearly as good as the Michigan O. Besides, Robinson wasn't really that poor of a passser. Of course, he was definitely a better passer than Martinez ... but it was also his second year of receiving quality playing time too.
 
Nebraska has many sets.. Depending if T Mart is in. If not they used to run a "wildcat" formation with burkhead. They Primarily want to run first, pass second.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tCH3hCq1Sc[/ame]
 
Last edited:
homerHAWKeye777 said:
The problem really wasn't with Michigan's O. The bigger issue concerned Michigan's D.

In contrast, the Husker D will likely be VERY sound under Pelini's watch. The bigger issue is that the Husker O won't be nearly as good as the Michigan O. Besides, Robinson wasn't really that poor of a passser. Of course, he was definitely a better passer than Martinez ... but it was also his second year of receiving quality playing time too.
Click to expand...

While it is true thier D played well this year, you have to figure in the B12 almost every team ran the spread. I wonder how that D will hold up to getting the snot beat out of them buy running teams, that in my mind will be the big question. You see what happened to Missery when they played Iowa, getting knocked on your arse does not win games.
 
MoseSchrute said:
Husker fans are saying on their board that B10 D's are not known for their speed, so no problem for them.
Click to expand...
I posted on this awhile back, I took a look at our D backs 40 time and compared it to Nebraskas "speed demon" t-mart, I think they are in for a surprise. One question the B10 has approx 6 teams running the spread, where are they ranked in the conference? It can be done, in this conference, but is very hard.
 
olddude said:
While it is true thier D played well this year, you have to figure in the B12 almost every team ran the spread. I wonder how that D will hold up to getting the snot beat out of them buy running teams, that in my mind will be the big question. You see what happened to Missery when they played Iowa, getting knocked on your arse does not win games.
Click to expand...

Definitely an interesting take.

The Big 12 most certainly was comparatively more "homogeneous" with regard to the types of Os that the conference featured.

In contrast, in the Big 10, we have a greater variety of offenses. There are passing oriented spread, spread-option teams, and plenty of variants of pro-set and power running Os too. And, contrarty to stereotypes ... the Big 10 isn't lacking in speed nearly as much as many folks think.

The variety in the Big 10 certainly can make things harder on Ds.
 
olddude said:
I posted on this awhile back, I took a look at our D backs 40 time and compared it to Nebraskas "speed demon" t-mart, I think they are in for a surprise. One question the B10 has approx 6 teams running the spread, where are they ranked in the conference? It can be done, in this conference, but is very hard.
Click to expand...


Great points.

tOSU has some spread-type looks, but is somewhat more traditional.

Iowa, MSU, PSU, and UW all have pro-set offenses for the most part.

That's your basic look at the upper division of the B10 (give or take).
 
racerhawk said:
Great points.

tOSU has some spread-type looks, but is somewhat more traditional.

Iowa, MSU, PSU, and UW all have pro-set offenses for the most part.

That's your basic look at the upper division of the B10 (give or take).
Click to expand...

If you look at the top of the Big 10 ... it usually correlates the most with the QUALITY of the defense. Not surprisingly, all of the top teams in the Big 10 are usually pretty elite when it comes to D.

The Huskers seem like they mainly want to be able to be "multiple" ... however, tOSU and PSU have their own ways of being "multiple" too. For instance, when they have the QB for it ... PSU likes to use its "spread HD" O. And, as racerhawk rightly stated, tOSU attempts to laterally spread on the field with many of its looks too. Of course, traditional "Tressel-ball" is not too unlike Ferentz-ball.

Iowa and Wisky tend to be "multiple" in a way that contrasts with some of the other teams ... largely with regard to how BOTH teams have great success developing quality O-linemen AND how both teams use their TEs A LOT.
 
olddude said:
I posted on this awhile back, I took a look at our D backs 40 time and compared it to Nebraskas "speed demon" t-mart, I think they are in for a surprise. One question the B10 has approx 6 teams running the spread, where are they ranked in the conference? It can be done, in this conference, but is very hard.
Click to expand...

Iowa's pass defense doesn't usually defend man to man. It's zone. The question is: how fast is the unit for approximately 15 yards? Also...

tOSU and Oregon, for example, runs a spread offense where everything comes through a QB option - a running spread. IMO, this is because the QB isn't great in the passing game. If Pryor were a better passer, tOSU would probably run more passing plays in their spread offense because that's harder to defend.

Iowa's D is good against a running spread offense until one on one matchups break down the defense.

Northwestern and Missouri, for example, runs a passing spread offense.
Passing first. Running second. Iowa's defense has real trouble with any sophisticated passing attack.

There's the pistol. A hybrid spread offense.

Finally, there's some spread offense like Auburn's that are evolving. A running spread offense that passes as much a it runs because the QB is good at passing.
 
olddude said:
I posted on this awhile back, I took a look at our D backs 40 time and compared it to Nebraskas "speed demon" t-mart, I think they are in for a surprise. One question the B10 has approx 6 teams running the spread, where are they ranked in the conference? It can be done, in this conference, but is very hard.
Click to expand...

Iowa's pass defense doesn't usually defend man to man. It's zone. The question is: how fast is the unit for approximately 15 yards. Also...

tOSU and Oregon, for example, runs a spread offense where everything comes through a QB option - a running spread. IMO, this is because the QB isn't great in the passing game. If Pryor were a better passer, tOSU would probably run more passing plays in their spread offense because that's harder to defend.

Iowa's defense is good against a running spread offense until one-on-one matchups breaks down the defense.

Northwestern and Missouri, for example, runs a passing spread offense.
Passing first. Running second.

Iowa's defense has real trouble with any sophisticated passing attack.

Indiana and Oklahoma, for example, runs the pistol offense. A hybrid spread offense.

Finally, there's some spread offenses like Auburn's that are evolving. A running spread offense that passes as much a it runs because the QB is good at passing.

If Nebraska chooses a running spread, like tOSU's, Iowa's defense will hold its own. If Nebraska chooses a passing spread, like Northwestern's, Iowa's defense will be in trouble.
If Nebraska chooses a pistol spread offense, like Indiana's, Iowa's defense could be in trouble. It depends on how many passes the other team attempts.
 
Last edited:
The Big 12 has primarily been a pass happy league and Nebby's D is still going to be based around that until they can get the kids they need to play a more balanced D. Look for the run heavy teams like Iowa and Wiscy to pulverize their defense the first year or two.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Share this page

Top